Hi,

I am also wondering what people recommend for fertilizer for when I repot my meyer lemon. Osmocote Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron which is 9 - 6 - 6, or am I better off with Organic Citrus Fertilizer from Logees that is 7-3-3? Any other fertilizers that people prefer?

Thanks

Hi Reddog1970, according to the experts there is a certain NPK ratio that is ideal but there doesn't seem to be a fertilizer available that fits those specs, so I use what ever I'm feeding other plants at the time. I use both organic and inorganic fertilizers and interchange them. Sometimes I use fish emulsion, sometimes epsom salts, sometimes Miracid, etc, etc, etc. I also use the organic citrus fertilizer from Logee's on all of my plants (citrus and non citrus) and it seems to be good, but just be aware that it has a 2 year shelf life due to the probiotics.

Maybe some of the experts will chime in and give some of their educated and wise views.

The NPK ratio that citrusnut was referring to is 5-1-3. That is the ratio that citrus plants use. The ratio is not as important for inground trees since salt buildup is not a problem (however excess P can tie-up minerals). In containers, using as close as possible to that ratio helps prevent salt build-up.

I use Osmocote 19-6-12, but it does not have trace minerals. I have not been able to find the Osmocote with trace minerals. The next time I buy, I will probably get the Dynamite 19-6-12 with trace minerals.

Organic fertilizer does not do anything special for citrus and it is difficult to find organics with enough K.

Does anyone have any experience with Dyna-Gro liquid Grow plant food? I have recieved a recommendation to use Dyna-Gro foliage pro. Logees recommended the Dyna-Gro liquid Grow plant food 7-9-5. This N-P-K seems to not be inline with your recommendations.

Thanks,

Mike

I use a 24-8-16. Plus, 1 Tbls epsom salt per gallon water once or twice a month.
Thanks to Theresa for mentioning E.S... I forgot about using it this year so far. I use E.S on everything. I will use some tomorrow.

Stokes Tropicals Heliconia fertilizer is 9-3-6 with minors which is pretty darn close. I am giving it a try. I don't see any reason it wouldn't work with citrus, although perhaps the iron content is a bit on the low side. Does citrus benefit from the addition of Humic Acid?

-Brett

After reading Skeeter's post, I researched Dynamite fertilizer on the web.
I found the following products:
-All Purpose 18-6-8
-All purpose Select 15-5-9
-Palm and Citrus 13-5-11
They all report to contain "necessary micros"
None of these are far from the ideal 5-1-3 ratio but it appears the all purpose select is almost exact (if I am correct in looking at it as a multiplier of 3). It is even closer than the citrus product.
Am I looking at this right?
Also- is there a difference between a product having "necessary micros" and using Scotts STEM?
Are there certain trace elements in STEM a person should be sure to have that are often not included in the "necessary micros" label?
Kyle

The Dynamite all purpose fertilizer with the formula 15-5-9 has a ratio of 3 -1 - 1.8 (the multiplier is 5 not 3). - Millet

I looked at the dynamite micros online and it appears to have all of the essential elements that citrus tend to develop deficiencies in. If you use that at the recommended rates, it is unlikely your tree will develop any deficiencies--you would not need to add additional STEM.

I am not aware of any fertilizer that has the exact ratio of major elements (NPK) needed for container citrus. One easy way to adjust that is with the addition of ammonium sulfate to your containers. Joe Real has done a calculation of the amounts needed to bring various formulas up to the 5-1-3 ratio.

Millet-
it doesn't matter what multiplier you use does it?
It is still the same ratio.
I merely meant that dividing 15-5-9 by 3 you get 5-1.67-3.
Using 3 seems to make it most clearly near the ideal 5-1-3.

KW4, yes it does matter what multiplier (divider) you use. By using the number 3 it does not give you the ratio, all it does is divide the three numbers in the formula by 3. When obtaining the ratio, the correct method is to use the lowest number in the fertilizer formula. Take care. - Millet

Millet, I disagree.

I believe that:
15-5-9
5-1.67-3 and
3-1-1.8
Are all the same ratios and all correct.

I believe:
15-5-9 used by Dynamite has the advantage of representing the exact percent by weight.
5-1.67-3 used by me has the advantage of demonstrating how close it is to the ideal 5-1-3
3-1-1.8 used by you has the advantage of using a whole numeral 1.

I have searched for a resource to state that a ratio must include the numeral 1 (ie divided by the lowest numeral) to be correct- as you imply. I find no such reference.

Indeed, fertilizer manufacturers use "NPK ratios" such the above mentioned 15-5-9. Are they all incorrect to call these ratios?

I see this arguement arose in the past on the "osmocote and fish fert combo" thread. I agree with Barbara's comments on that thread.

Kyle

....................."fertilizer manufacturers use "NPK ratios" such the above mentioned 15-5-9. ".......................

The manufactures numbers 15-5-9 that are listed on the container are not actually ratios, they are percentages of the ingredients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Doing the math, I can see that KW4's ratio and my ratio are actually the same. Therefore, 15-5-9 is pretty close to the 5-1-3 ratio. In the formula 15-5-9, as the tree absorbs fertilizer it will take all the nitrogen and potassium, but leave 2 parts phosphorus behind every time. The phosphorus will of course continue to build up in the container, so a flushing would need to be done a couple times a year. I will have to conceed to KW4, he is correct that Dynamite W/minors would be a good formula to use on citrus. - Millet

I think my 24-8-16 fert is the closest to the 5-1-3 ratio which would be 25-5-15. Is that right Millet?
Whoops, I think I mean 2nd closest.

Patty, 25-5-15 with minors would be perfect. - Millet